Third Party and the CHUG Renaissance

 - Dorian MacQuarrie

It could be said, that in the world of Third Party toys, Masterpiece reigns supreme. With multiple companies making versions of fan favourite characters designed to populate your MP shelf, an awful lot of resources are poured into cashing in on the popularity of Masterpiece Transformers. Just how much money there is in an MP Springer analogue when there are half a dozen on the market is up for debate but as a whole, Masterpiece is the cash cow of the day. 

Yet cast your mind back to the earliest days of Third Party toys, from the lowliest resin garage kit to the game-changing City Commander from Fansproject, every Third Party release revolved around Classics, Henkei, Universe 2.0 and Generations toys. Due to the accessibility of mainline toys versus the scant few Masterpiece offerings at the time there was no other choice for burgeoning Third Party companies but to cater to the CHUG collectors but this also allowed for a vast array of products. Whether it was an improved head sculpt and G1 accurate gun or of course an armour kit to turn a white Optimus Prime into a true Ultra Magnus, the scene eventually moved onto fully fledged figures intended to fill out your CHUG shelves, representing characters which, at the time, Hasbro and Takara were never going to release. At its peak, CHUG focused toys so utterly dominated the scene that it was seen as the final destination for Third Party toys. 

Even with the vast amount of releases from a myriad of companies show that 3PMP (a phrase I often use on forums and social media) is well and truly leading the charge I would say we are actually experiencing a renaissance in Third Party CHUG toys, with one major caveat....it's paving the way for a level of self-determination for Third Party companies we have never seen before. 

As it currently stands, the major non-Masterpiece lines on offer from Third Party companies are MMC's Reformatted, Maketoys Cross Dimension (and formerly their Manga Mech and Combiner lines), Planet X's Fall of Cybertron offerings and of course the numerous different legends scale releases from DX9, Iron Factory, Mech Planet etc. This isn't an exhaustive list but it's what I would consider the big hitters at the moment. 

Each have a very clear focus, zooming in on a particular aesthetic and sometimes a particular set of characters, allowing collectors to place their bets with a company and have a higher chance of seeing Fall of Cybertron Megatron released or maybe the full Decepticon Justice Division. Or perhaps in the case of Maketoys' Cross Dimension line, we just wait and see what wonders they drop on us and squee in anticipation.

There is plenty on offer for the discerning CHUG enthusiast who seeks to step into the world of Third Party toys but I would say at this point, CHUG is an incorrect and misleading term. They are often deemed CHUG as they are non-Masterpiece toys, being defined by what they are not rather than what they are. The question is then, what are they? Were you to take a number of toys from the various ranges mentioned previously, you would find they share very little in aesthetics. They are no longer CHUG-focused toys and if you are able to fit them in to a CHUG shelf, it's not with the same level of aesthetic integration as with the early days of Third Party toys. So again, what are they?

As MMC release more and more IDW styled toys they will begin to stand alone as a display of comic accurate releases, not to mention the extra height and bulk most MMC toys carry over those from other companies which often puts them in their own scale. Were you to take Takara's LG Skids, heavily based on the IDW design, it would look drastically out of place alongside MMC's releases. Maketoys' Cross Dimension could be considered Neo-Classics, Hyper Anime Classics, the mainline style turned up to 11 and packed full of articulation but when actually put alongside mainline toys from the past ten years, they clearly do not share a similar enough aesthetic. Sure the same could be said for the mainline toys that make up the many releases which fall under the CHUG banner but nothing so much as putting Striker Manus alongside Universe 2.0 Sunstreaker, or even placing Rioter Despotron in the centre of your CHUG Decepticon shelf and realising that he's packing far more detail and design work than half of the Decepticon toys Rioter stands alongside. Even on my own shelves I ensure Striker Manus stands near other, very particular Third Party toys which then in turn stand next to Hasbro and Takara releases, almost acting as an aesthetic buffer between the super-robo styling of Striker Manus and the clunky design of Henkei Prowl.  

Similar to MMC and their current IDW styled toys, as Maketoys release more and more Cross Dimension (and combiners, maybe? Please? #MaketoysLiokaiserPLZ) they will start to stand apart from any CHUG toys they might share shelf space with and little by little, they become an entity unto their own, CHUG toys only in that they are not Masterpiece and not because of any shared aesthetic or intention to fill in the gaps missing on your CHUG shelf. While yes, these companies will always fall back to Transformers characters and designs for inspiration,the toys themselves won't need a Hasbro or Takara toy line to fit into in order to justify a purchase or give the toy a purpose, they will be simply added to an already established line, be it Reformatted or Cross Dimension or whatever new lines appear in the next few years. That is quite a remarkable shift away from the gap fillers of yesteryear and actually, even the current 3PMP offerings. 

Personally I think there is a stigma around paying top dollar for a toy people see as intended to stand alongside mainline figures, which are often seen as lesser in terms of design, build and of course, price point. Third Party toys are an adult-collector focused product and when held hand in hand with Hasbro mainline toys, there is a gulf of intent and purpose some collectors struggle to bridge. Masterpiece toys on the other hand are of course adult-collector focused so 3PMP toys can be more easily reconciled with the 'serious business' line of Masterpiece. 

Time and again I have seen negative comments about paying £50 - £80 for what amounts to only a CHUG toy but paying the same for a 3PMP toy is more acceptable as the price is more equatable with Takara MPs and of course, the intent of the toy, to be an adult collectable, in some ways justifies the price. Rarely is there more or better engineering put into one than the other beyond the capabilities of the company making the toy. Fanstoys Tesla does not stand head and shoulders above Perfect Effect's Warden just because it is Masterpiece focused and should be seen to have a higher quality of paint, build, design and engineering as dictated by the label 'Masterpiece' but unfortunately I do think some people see it this way. For the record, Perfect Effect's Warden is a very literal masterpiece of a toy. 

The introduction and subsequent rise of 3PMP, has brought a legion of new collectors who before wouldn't have shown much interest in Third Party toys. I like to imagine these same collectors watching jealously, as early adopters of Third Party toys enjoyed the fruits of labour from Fansproject, TFC and Maketoys, biding their time, waiting for a product which appealed to their collecting sensibilities. This influx of new collectors means new customers so of course there is a lot of money to be had if a company can nail the Masterpiece aesthetic and have the right characters at the right time. It's only natural for the Third Party scene to turn away from its CHUG roots and devote more time and money into releasing toys that appeal to these particular collectors. 

To echo my earlier words, we may be experiencing a renaissance in CHUG focused Third Party toys, with the best releases from the best companies, with levels of design, engineering and character choice which are stunning to behold. But! And this is a very big But, with a capital B, it is not going to last. Once MMC have filled out their ranks of IDW styled toys you won't have a CHUG shelf, you will have an IDW shelf. Eventually you will have a Cross Dimension shelf and maybe one day you'll even have a Lost Exo Realm shelf at which point these toys should no longer be labelled CHUG as really, the only trait they'll share with actual CHUG toys is that they are not 'Masterpiece' toys. Maybe the hard work of the marketing teams at MMC or Maketoys will score a victory and we will indeed call them Reformatted toys and Cross Dimension toys and those labels will carry with them the traits of those lines, be it comic accurate and super sturdy or super-robo with anime flair. At that point calling them CHUG toys will be a massive disservice to the designers behind releases such as MMC's Carnifex or Maketoys' Thunder Erebus as they are truly, in their own right, masterpiece toys. 


As always, keep it #Refined.

Generation One Car-Robots

 - Dorian MacQuarrie

There is something quite special about the Generation One Autobot car-robots. By car-robots I mean the first few waves of Autobots, taken from the Diaclone line and presented with new names, characters and in some cases new colour schemes. 

I missed the boat on G1 and it was only in the last ten years I even held an Autobot car-robot but I was immediately gripped by a certain magic that nothing else in the vast world of Transformers collecting, not Masterpiece, nor anything from the Third Party scene has been able to recreate.  

It is the "car" in car-robot that so enthralled me and drew me into a world of diecast, scale cars with real-world counterparts but with a hidden secret of transformation under the hood.

There is a sort of uncanny valley with most modern Transformers alt modes. Even the movie toys which are often based on real world vehicles can still have a hint of robot about them, maybe the paint work or panel lines betray what really lies under the car body. Steps are not taken to give them a worthy disguise. The Alternators/Binaltech line is possibly the only instance where the alt modes were presented as legitimate scale model cars, made for display in alt mode and definitely not to be confused with a Transformers toy(!)

From Hoist's car-towing capabilities to Skids' opening boot (complete with scooter were we talking about Diaclone Honda City Turbo) and of course the obvious but still marvelous car carrying capacity of Ultra Magnus, the G1 car-robots performed the necessary tasks required to pass as a toy car and nothing more. With rubbers tires, die-cast parts, spectacular real world detailing and chromed metalwork, they pass as convincing toy cars to the uninitiated, making their transformation all the more surprising and satisfying. 

Ye Gods that chrome wear 

Transformers have always had that 'two toys in one' appeal, a robot warrior with some sort of alternative mode but rarely do modern toys have an alternative mode that fulfills the toy-based function of its designated vehicle/camera/gun/tape deck etc. 

Universe 2.0 Sunstreaker's alt mode does not pass for a convincing toy car, it is clearly a Transformer and lacks many of the hallmarks that would indicate a toy car with only the intention of being a toy car. And that's fine, that's good, there's nothing wrong with that but cast your gaze over to the G1 car-robots and boy oh boy, they had that 'two toys in one' thing sorted. 

If only I had some drivers

I do find myself wondering why I don't just buy model scale cars, be they model kits or die-cast constructs but the answer is simple, they'd just be cars. That's it. The pure joy I feel over the G1 Autobot car-robots stems from the duality of their nature. They are inherently both a toy car and a robot. I'd say this stems from the original design ethos, to be cars that turned into robots, complete with little drivers (more on that topic in a future article, spoilers, I love drivers for my robots) and therefore they needed to pass as toy cars with all the trimmings necessary to fit that particular sort of toy. 

If you're reading this and wondering why little toy car-robots have such a prime position in my collection then maybe you need to go out and buy some of these G1 gems and experience them for yourself. Pound for pound, date for date, Transformers has never matched those original car-robots. 


Until next time, keep it #Refined

In Defence of Omnigonix Spinout

 - Dorian MacQuarrie

Omnigonix Spinout is a fantastic toy. 

Not what you would expect to hear about a release known for terrible quality control, questionable material choices plus a few design issues thrown in for good measure. If you can look past those issues though, glaring as they are, you may just see the wonderful design that lies at the core of Spinout. As the first release from a new third party company, Spinout could have been one of the most successful attempts at recreating the Hasui style of Masterpiece Transformers but whether it was cost cutting measures, head office meddling in the manufacturing process or if rumours are to be believed, sabotage at the factory level, Omnigonix was unable to deliver a Masterpiece build quality. 

The reveal of MP-39 Sunstreaker has set the fandom alight with anticipation of this once unlikely release from the Masterpiece line. It has also set eBay and selling forums alight with a wave of Sunsurges at bargain prices. Not so much with Spinout. Be it because he differs so drastically from the cartoon focused MP-39 and Sunsurge or maybe it's the storied journey the toy went through from conception to release, Spinout seems to be keeping his place as a Sunstreaker representation on many Masterpiece shelves. 

This isn't the first time I've written about Spinout on this blog and it won't be the last as I'll be sure to write a comparison piece between Spinout and MP Sunstreaker when he's finally released. He is just one of those figures that captivates and I'm not alone in this regard, you need only head over to the Spinout thread on TFW2005 to see how much fanaticism this toy has garnered. 

Early adopters of the toy went on a journey, from supporting a new designer working on a project through the thrilling highs of revealed concepts and audience participation in voting for head sculpts to the abject lows of the final reveal and the tragic story of how a spectacular design was rendered into a thoroughly unspectacular form. This investment of time and interest has held sway over the many collectors who push past the flaws seen in the toy, resulting in a supportive community who are more than happy to help with fixes and tips to get the most out of your Spinout. 

Even with the known flaws, Spinout still looks amazing and I don't just mean a swell looking bot, I mean absolutely, drop dead gorgeous amazing. From the toy focused detailing of the real car hood making the real robot chest to the clean, kibble free back to the feet, oh those damn feet! Spinout is the quintessential representation of a Masterpiece Sunstreaker for my tastes. He is more in line with the early Hasui cars than a 3PMP has any right to be. For someone like myself who is not a fan of the current cartoon focus of the MP line Spinout is a breath of fresh air and allows me to have the classic duo of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker in a matching aesthetic.

Car roof for a chest? Check. Car hood feet? Check.

Yes Spinout's downfall comes from the poor build quality, be it indeed because of factory sabotage, head office meddling in the manufacturing process or just the inexperience of a new third party company, but there is still a great toy under all that mess.

The best way I could describe the experience for those who have never handled the toy is similar to that of a middle to high quality KO or maybe that of an early test-shot, or at least what I imagine an early test shot would feel like (I've only handled final test shots in my limited experience). Everything is there, the toy works as a transforming car-robot-man but the fit and finish is lacking. Details from the initial designs removed as cost cutting measures, poor quality plastics used for armatures and transformation joints and a general feeling that Spinout needed a few more passes through the manufacturing process before he was ready for release have taken what could have been a A+ release into a risky purchase. 

"Put up your dukes!"

My Spinout could be considered a "good" sample, with slightly loose joints and the ever present issue of wheels popping off. I've heard horror stories of figures literally crumbling away and parts missing upon opening which makes it difficult to defend Spinout and put forward why I think it's such a great toy. 

As ridiculous as it may seem you need to divorce the QC issues from toy itself. The toy is fantastic and mine is fairly well built and very much in line with the early releases of the third party scene. The quality controls and materials used in the manufacturing of the toy are the real culprit and the reason why your experience with Spinout may be disappointing. That's a bit mad to say as of course so much of a toy is the build quality but I struggle to think of another example where a terrific design was so severely hamstrung with a poor build and in a way Spinout stands alone in this very niche, particular bracket. 

LamBros forever

Even with a pre-order down for MP-39, Spinout will still have pride of place in my collection. As the only offer of a toy focused Masterpiece Sunstreaker he looks marvelous next to the early MP Autobot cars and is a more fitting partner for Sideswipe than Sunsurge or even the official release. If you can find one for a good price (oddly difficult these days) roll the dice and take the gamble, you may be pleasantly surprised. 


Until next time, keep it #Refined


Follow Dorian on Twitter @Vigadeath